Marcellus Drilling News

Accidents | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Research

API Says EPA Botched Pavillion, WY Fracking Tests
October 19, 2012October 19, 2012

The American Petroleum Institute (API) issued a press release yesterday taking the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to task over their sloppy work in Pavillion, Wyoming.

You may recall the EPA is on a quest to try and prove fracking has contaminated water supplies in the Pavillion area with fracking chemicals. Never mind that the drilling and fracking done in Pavillion is shallow at around 1,200 feet down (not the one mile or more that’s common in shale plays). Never mind that the water table in Pavillion is deep at 800 feet (not the 300 feet as is typical in the northeast). Never mind that drilling and fracking was done in porous sandstone in Pavillion (not tightly-packed shale deposits). And never mind the EPA drilled just two test wells, one of which didn’t produce enough water for a valid sample. (See this MDN story for more background on Pavillion.)

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Allegheny County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

South Fayette, PA Thumbs Nose at PUC over Zoning Review
October 19, 2012October 19, 2012

Although parts of the zoning provisions in Pennsylvania’s new Act 13 Marcellus drilling law have been challenged in court and oral arguments were heard in PA Supreme Court earlier this week, there are other parts of the Act 13 law—zoning parts—that were not overturned and are not up for discussion. According to the PA Public Utility Commission (PUC), the agency charged with interpreting whether or not a town is in violation of those remaining sections, the town of South Fayette in Allegheny County is in violation and unless they revise their zoning laws, they won’t get impact fee revenue this year.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Where Do Obama & Romney Stand on Fracking Issue?
October 19, 2012October 19, 2012

What do President Obama and Mitt Romney really think about fracking? MLive Media, representing some of Michigan’s largest newspapers, asked the two campaigns this question: Should Michigan should ban fracking? Here’s what the candidates said…

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Allegheny County | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

MSC Celebrates 2012 Accomplishments, Looks Forward to 2013
October 19, 2012October 19, 2012

The Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), headquartered in Pittsburgh, is (MDN would argue) the Marcellus Shale’s premier information and advocacy organization. They are top-flight professionals in every sense. MDN editor Jim Willis attended the MSC’s SHALE GAS INSIGHT conference in Philly in September—one of the best industry events of any type he’s ever attended (protesters and all!).

Last night the MSC held its annual membership meeting at Carnegie Music Hall to celebrate and reflect on the accomplishments of 2012 and to look forward to 2013. And what a list of accomplishments it was! The MSC issued this press release about last night’s gathering:

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Oct 19, 2012
October 19, 2012October 19, 2012

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:

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Anschutz Exploration | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Norse Energy | Otsego County | Regulation | Statewide NY | Tompkins County

Important Developments in NY Fracking Ban Court Cases
October 18, 2012October 18, 2012

There’s been an important development in two cases on appeal in New York State courts that challenge municipal bans of fracking. The two cases challenge municipal fracking bans in the Town of Dryden, NY (see this MDN story for background) and the Town of Middlefield, NY (see this MDN story for background).

According to lead attorney Tom West, all the necessary paperwork for both cases has been filed (called “perfecting” the case). West believes both cases will make it onto the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court docket for an early February hearing of oral arguments. The Appellate Division typically issues an opinion 6-8 weeks following oral arguments, so we should have a decision by late spring. In addition and of keen interest, the plaintiff in one of the cases has changed.

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues

Why Do Drillers Prefer the Marcellus/Utica? (from S&P Report)
October 18, 2012October 18, 2012

Why is the Marcellus Shale and its first cousin the Utica Shale so darned popular—more popular for drillers than other shale plays in the U.S.? Is it because of the size of the play—the Marcellus and Utica is the largest play in the U.S.? Not really, or maybe we should say not exclusively. The recent report issued by Standard & Poor’s titled “How The Marcellus Shale Is Changing The Dynamics Of The U.S. Energy Industry” (see this MDN story) contains a very interesting section that MDN believes gives the answer to the question of why the Marcellus is so popular for drillers. It won’t come as a surprise to you that economics play a key role.

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Industrywide Issues | Research

Marcellus Shale Top 15 Drillers (from S&P Report)
October 18, 2012October 18, 2012

MDN highlighted an important and insightful new study from Standard & Poor’s yesterday titled “How The Marcellus Shale Is Changing The Dynamics Of The U.S. Energy Industry” (see this MDN story). There’s a lot of great content in the study, some of which deserves to be highlighted in separate posts here on MDN. One such section is their “Top 15 Drillers” in the Marcellus, as ranked by how much natural gas is produced by those drillers in the Marcellus. We’ve inserted the chart below, re-worked by MDN.

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Chesapeake Energy | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues

Top 20 U.S. Natural Gas Producers
October 18, 2012October 18, 2012

MDN highlighted part one of a new series of articles appearing on the Seeking Alpha website on the topic of rig counts and what they see as a coming natural gas shortage (see this MDN story). The series continues with part two. Of keen interest in the second installment is a slide from a Chesapeake Energy presentation showing the top 20 U.S. natural gas producers (based on production volume) with columns showing how many rigs they’re running and the percentage change in the number of rigs from January of 2010 to September 2012. Most startling is Chesapeake’s own rig count, which has gone from 110 active rigs in 2010 to just 9 at the end of September 2012—a 92% reduction. Wow!

There’s a lot of great detail in this chart. Here it is (click on the chart for a larger view):

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

New Website Debuts Listing Research, Articles on Marcellus
October 18, 2012October 18, 2012

Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs have collaborated to create an important new website aimed at providing links to research and articles on the web for public officials and the public in general on the topic of the Marcellus and Utica Shale. The website, called “A Research Guide to the Marcellus and Utica Shales” (www.andrew.cmu.edu/org/marcellus-biblio), links to over 1,200 research studies, articles and other resources. The information is categorized making it easier to locate related articles.

If you happen to click the category for “In the News” (their list of resources that regularly write about the Marcellus/Utica) you’ll find MDN in their select and very short list of 19 news resources. Obviously someone working on the project has good taste. 😉 Here’s the background for how the project and website came to be:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Supreme Court Hears Testimony on Act 13 Zoning
October 18, 2012October 18, 2012

Yesterday MDN told you about what we consider the most important oil and gas drilling case to go before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in many years (see this MDN story). The PA Supremes heard arguments (yesterday) in what MDN considers the second most important O&G case to be heard in years—whether or not the zoning provisions in the Act 13 law are constitutional. Were there any indications from the questioning which way the judges might rule?

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Regulation

Youngstown, OH Votes to Allow Fracking Inside City Limits
October 18, 2012October 18, 2012

Last night Youngstown, OH City Council voted to allow natural gas and oil drilling inside city limits. Here’s how it went down:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Wastewater

Chemical & Engineering News Article: Cleaner Fracking
October 18, 2012October 18, 2012

The cover story for the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News (published earlier this week) takes a stab at explaining the process, technology and industry that’s arisen to treat fracking wastewater. From chemicals to evaporators, the article covers it all, complete with a very handy graphic detailing the process (see below).

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Oct 18, 2012
October 18, 2012October 18, 2012

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:

Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Oct 18, 2012”
Commodity Price | Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

S&P Report: The Marcellus Shale is a Game-Changer
October 17, 2012October 17, 2012

Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s yesterday issued an important new report on the Marcellus Shale and the key role it’s playing in the United States’ natural gas and larger energy picture. Titled “How The Marcellus Shale Is Changing The Dynamics Of The U.S. Energy Industry,” there’s a lot of great information in this report. For example: the report lists the Top 15 Marcellus Shale producers, with estimates of how much shale gas they produce (as of fourth quarter 2011). It also discusses how and why the Marcellus is one of the most cost-effective plays in the U.S. for producers, and why they can make money in the Marcellus at much lower commodity prices for gas than in other plays. It contains a complete list of pending and planned pipeline projects in the Marcellus, including ethane pipelines. And more!

MDN is still reading and digesting the report and will bring you select sections and highlights over the next few days. In the meantime, you can view the entire report below now (highly recommended):

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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Susquehanna County

PA Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Critical O&G Case
October 17, 2012October 17, 2012

Yesterday the Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard arguments in what MDN considers the most important oil and gas case to come before the court in many years. We’ve chronicled the case called Butler v Powers in past articles, including this article from Sept. 2011. It’s a complex case, and at the risk of oversimplifying it, here’s how we would summarize it:

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